


All That Glitters

by FenyxNyteRyder



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M, Tumblr, aphrarepairweek2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 07:44:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7565857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FenyxNyteRyder/pseuds/FenyxNyteRyder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A curse had left Matthew stuck as a forgotten relic in an ancient kingdom until a prince from a foreign land stumbled across the castle ruins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All That Glitters

**Author's Note:**

> For the 2016 APH Rare Pair Week on Tumblr @aphrarepairweek2016  
> Day 7 Prompt: Gold  
> Pairing: Japanada

“Centuries ago, in a kingdom far, far away, there once lived a prince who was adored by all of the citizens of the country. He was kind and loyal to his people, and he was always willing to help anyone who was in need, giving away the king’s gold to those who needed it more.

 

“However, despite his love for his only son, the king was nevertheless a greedy man, and he often disapproved of the way that the prince was ‘wasting money.’

 

“‘What is the purpose of taxes and receiving money from the people, if it’s only going to be thrown back at them?’ the king had questioned his son one night. To which the prince replied, ‘What is the point in having a kingdom where the people hate you and are starving and dying while you stay here, safe inside your castle and well-fed?’ For the prince knew that a kingdom was nothing without its people.

 

“The king merely scoffed and sent the prince away to his rooms. The following day, the king issued a decree for the guards to scour the kingdom and have whatever amount of money had been given away, returned in sevenfold.

 

“The people were furious at the king. ‘How can we give you money that we don’t have?’ they asked. But the king turned a blind eye, ignoring the people’s demands and concerns. The prince tried to talk to his father and convince him that he was being too cruel, but the king ignored him, and when the prince tried to sneak out of the castle to continue helping the citizens, the guards were forced to lock the fair prince away.

 

“When the townsfolk heard of what had happened to the prince, a group of them decided to storm the castle and--”

 

“What about the witch?” a young girl piped up from where she was sitting on the seat of the carriage, her long dark hair pulled up into a bun on the top of her head, circled by a small tiara embedded with jewels that matched her pink and white gown.

 

“Quiet, Mei-Mei, and let Father tell the story,” an older boy with dark jaw-length hair reprimanded gently, smoothing out his white uniform with his fingertips before glancing back out the window at the trees that were passing by in the darkening forest. He was only half-listening to the others, for he had heard the fable told many times before.

 

Mei-Lien scrunched up her nose at her older brother, sticking her tongue out briefly before turning back to their father with wide puppy-dog eyes.

 

Yao smiled gently, patting his daughter on the head before nodding. “Yes, there was a witch. She was one of the ones who had led the march on the castle. She had heard of the king’s treachery and betrayal against his own people and traveled from far away to come see if the rumours that she had heard were true.

 

“Alas, when she went to confront the king of his deeds and to try to gain his sympathy for the people, she was rejected. It left her with only one course of action. If the king was so blind and greedy as to neglect his own citizens, to take away everything that they had, then she had no choice but to take the king’s most prized possession from him.

 

“With that, she turned to leave, seeking out the prince that was locked inside the castle walls. Upon finding him sitting in the middle of the courtyard, she reached out to him, casting a curse upon the kingdom and watching as slowly, inch by inch, the prince began to turn into a solid gold statue. By the time that the king had learned of what was happening and rushed to the courtyard, it was already too late. He watched as his only child turned to gold, immobile, right before his eyes.

 

“‘With this, I curse you,’ the witch told him. ‘Your kingdom will fall into suffering, and you have no one to blame except for yourself. You will lose everything that you have ever loved. Never forget that it was your own greed that was your demise.’ And with that, she was gone, vanished into thin air and never to be seen or heard from again.

 

“The king had tried to call out to her, to make her come back and spare his son, but it was all in vain. He was too late. The prince was trapped as a golden statue for the rest of eternity, aware of his surroundings, but unable to move or speak to be able to call out for help. The people mourned the loss of their faithful prince, who had stood by them and helped them in their times of need. They brought candles and flowers to place around him.

 

“Despite all of the people’s wishes and pleads to the king for him to break the curse, there was no progress. All of their efforts were in vain when soon enough, the king was stricken down by his grief and guilt and despair, falling ill until one day he passed away.

 

“With no heir to the throne to reign after the king had died, the kingdom fell into chaos. War ravaged the lands. Poverty was rampant. Thievery grew. Plagues spread, killing crops and livestock. The kingdom was in shambles, until soon, everything faded away, and the golden prince remained silently watching as everything fell into ruins around him, until he too became forgotten with time…” Yao trailed off, folding his hands on his lap as he looked at his daughter who was wearing a frown, her small hands bunched into the fabric of her skirts.

 

“But...but what happened  _ after  _ that? Did the curse get broken? Did the prince rebuild his kingdom? Did the prince find his true love and live happily ever after?” Mei-Lien demanded to know with a pout, cheeks puffed out in discontent.

 

“No one knows,” Kiku spoke up, his gaze still focused on the world outside his window. “The story is very old, and it is said that the book that it was found in was badly damaged by a fire, so it is likely that no one will ever know the true ending to the story.”

 

“But that’s not fair! He should get his happy end-- Ahhh!” Mei-Lien’s complaints were cut off by a scream and falling forward against her father as the caravan suddenly lurched to a halt, the sound of panicked horses filling the air. Among the clamour was the sound of blades of steel and pained groans, the thrumming of arrow strings and the thud of arrows piercing wood.

 

Immediately, Yao was on his feet, a sword in his hand as he guided Mei-Lien over to Kiku, pulling aside the curtains that were near the door and preparing to jump out when Kiku stopped him.

 

“Father, please. I can help,” the prince murmured with a frown as the king merely shook his head before Kiku could finish speaking.

 

“No, it is too dangerous. Take Mei-Lien and get as far away from here as possible.” When it looked like Kiku was about to argue the point, Yao frowned and shook his head. “Protect your sister. I will find you two again. I promise.” With a quick kiss pressed to his daughter’s head despite her tearful protests, Yao ushered the children out of the back door of the carriage before he himself leapt into the fray of the battle against the bandits that had sought to attack the royal family.

 

Mei-Lien’s bottom lip trembled as she clung to Kiku’s sleeve before the prince grabbed her hand and started pulling her along, further into the woods and away from the sounds of battle. The sounds of death and bloodshed.

 

“K-Kiku, we-- We have to go back for dad! What if he gets hurt?” Mei-Lien sobbed, attempting to tug her brother to a stop, but there was only so much that an eight year old girl was capable of doing against an eighteen year old boy, even as he used his free arm to bat away the undergrowth and branches that threatened to tug at their clothing in the darkening forest.

 

Pressing his lips firmly together, Kiku tugged his sister to a stop, kneeling down in front of her and placing both of his hands on his shoulders. “You heard what Father said, Mei-Mei. He’ll find us. We can’t go back there right now unless you want to end up being hurt or taken away by those men that were attacking the caravan. Please do not fight me on this.”

 

The princess opened her mouth to protest, rubbing her tearful eyes against the back of her hand before freezing at the sound of rustling within the forest, followed by distant howls. Gulping, she sniffled and stood a bit closer to her older brother, clinging to his arm. “I’m… I’m scared…”

 

“It’s okay. I’ll protect you,” Kiku murmured, standing back up and taking his sister’s hand in his own as they continued through the forest. He tried not to walk too fast, so that Mei-Lien wouldn’t end up tripping in the dark or have trouble keeping up, even with as desperate as he was to get away from the fighting and keep the princess safe.

 

It felt as though hours had gone by as the pair of siblings stumbled around in the darkened forest, Kiku having to carry Mei-Lien at times when she complained about her legs hurting, before the trees began to thin out and the first signs of the glimmering star speckled sky became visible to them.

 

Slowing down and panting for breath, the royal siblings cautiously approached the clearing, Kiku noticing the blocks of stone rubble strewn about that had been slowly eroded and cracked with time, vines and trees and an assortment of other vegetation growing out of the weathered foundation. It was peculiar. The further they walked, the more that the space around them seemed to open up, forest falling away before what stood before them was the desolate remains of an old castle. Walls and towers were crumbling, some only being held up with the support of vines and a myriad of rose bushes that had grown wild and untamed, even though it must have belonged to a part of a magnificent rose garden at one point in time.

 

Mei-Lien glanced around before tugging on her brother’s sleeve, stifling a yawn with her free hand. “Where...are we, Brother? What is this place?”

 

Kiku paused, looking around at the fallen stone arches and crumbling columns. “I am...not sure. It appears to be some sort of ruins that have been here for hundreds of years from a kingdom that must have stood here. I am surprised that it is as...untouched as they seem to be, other than that done by nature itself.”

 

Blinking as he no longer felt his sister’s presence next to him, the prince frowned, his feet picking up speed as he jogged through the remains of the castle, calling out the princess’s name. It was then that he spotted something out of the corner of his eye in the darkness: the faintest golden glow reflecting in the moonlight with a small pink-clad figure standing near it. The plantlife that was surrounding the area was far more tame than that of which the siblings had passed on their trek to and through the ruins.

 

“Mei-Lien? Please do not run off like that...” Kiku called as he approached, though his words slowly died on the tip of his tongue as he took in the object that had drawn his sister away from him.

 

Sitting in the middle of what once must have been a royal courtyard was a magnificent golden statue of a young man, more than likely a prince that had lived in the castle at one point in time. The two things that Kiku noticed about the statue, however, that felt out of place to him was that the golden object seemed as though it were watching their every move, and the metal had failed to be tarnished by weather or any of the plantlife that had overtaken the rest of the castle. It was almost as though the statue were alive or had recently been placed within the courtyard, both of which made no sense to the raven-haired prince. Nevertheless, as Kiku continued to look over the statue, he couldn’t help but think that whoever the other prince had been was incredibly beautiful.

 

It was only when Mei-Lien had begun to tug on the hem of his shirt yet again that Kiku snapped out of his thoughts, glancing down at his sister with a frown when he noticed the far-too-innocent smile that was on her lips.

 

“You like him~” came the sing-song voice of his sister, causing a faint blush to tint his cheeks as he glanced away before the princess gasped. “What if he’s the prince from the story that Father was telling us? You should kiss him to try to break the curse!”

 

Kiku shifted uncomfortably as the eyes of the statue seemed to move to look at him, causing the dark-haired prince to clear his throat and clasp his hands together. “I do not believe that that would be appropriate…” Kiku murmured, his eyes widening as he was suddenly pushed from behind by Mei-Lien, catching him off-guard and sending him stumbling into the golden statue of the prince, Kiku’s face smacking into the cool metal.

 

Pulling back with a groan, the prince rubbed his nose, sending a small glower towards his sister who merely continued to stare at the statue with undisguised fascination, her eyes brightening as she patted Kiku’s arm excitedly. “Look!”

 

Blinking, the prince turned his attention back to the statue that was in front of them, watching as first the tips of the golden statue’s fingers and feet began to lose their golden glimmer, instead gaining colour in place of where the gold used to be. Several minutes passed as the siblings watched with bated breath, the colour and life slowly returning to the once statuesque prince that had been frozen in place for centuries, until only a headful of hair retained its glimmering golden hues.

 

The person before the siblings let out a deep breath, his eyes sliding closed for a moment before he sprawled out on the ground, a quiet sigh of relief slipping from his lips as he sank back into the grass.

 

Kiku and Mei-Lien hurried to the fallen figure’s side, hovering near him before a pair of deep violet eyes opened to look at the raven-haired prince. “Thank you,” he whispered, reaching out and taking Kiku’s hand before pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles, causing the other to become flushed with embarrassment at the sudden gesture. “You’ve saved me. You don’t know how long I had been trapped as a statue, forced to watch my people suffer and my kingdom crumble to ruins around me…” Letting out a sigh, the golden-haired prince let his hand fall back to the ground next to him as he stared up at the night sky that was just beginning to grow lighter in the distance, dawn fast approaching. “Perhaps now I can find peace…”

 

Mei-Lien frowned, reaching out and patting the newly awakened prince’s cheeks. “So you  _ are _ the prince from the fairytale, aren’t you? Who got turned to gold by a witch because the king was being greedy? What’s your name?”

 

The brown-eyed prince placed a hand on his sister’s shoulder, frowning. “That’s enough, Mei-Lien,” Kiku murmured, though his eyes were on the other prince.

 

“Fairytale? Well I suppose it seems enough like one by now…” the prince said quietly, almost as though he were speaking to himself. “But yes, it is I, Prince Matthew Bonnefoy, son of King Francis Bonnefoy VIII of the Kingdom, or perhaps I should say Former Kingdom, of Sol Gloria.”

 

Kiku blinked, a small frown on his lips. “So it really wasn’t a myth, after all…”

 

Matthew smiled softly, tiredly, up at Kiku before stretching his arms above his head and looking towards the brightening sky. Before he had the chance to respond, however, there was a loud clamour nearby at the front of the fallen castle, the voice of the siblings’ father calling out for his children.

 

“Daddy!” Mei-Lien cried out, jumping to her feet and running off in the direction of her father’s voice.

 

Kiku stood up and made a move to follow after her, but for some reason, he hesitated, turning once again toward the golden-haired prince. “What are you plans now, Prince Matthew?” he asked softly, tilting his head.

 

Sitting up, Matthew frowned, glancing around and seeming to hesitate. “I’m not sure. There is nothing left for me here, but the world has undoubtedly changed beyond my recognition and has likely long since forgotten of my family’s lineage…” Pushing himself up to a stand, the prince glanced toward the rising sun, the beams of sunlight catching against his hair, and not for the first time that night, Kiku was reminded of the glimmering gold that the prince had once been and how beautiful that he appeared to be.

 

“Why don’t you come with us?” Kiku found himself saying. “We could show you the world and teach you of everything we can of what you have missed. I’m sure that our father would not mind if you were to join us.”

 

Matthew blinked, seemingly surprised at the offer before he broke out in a wide grin and approached Kiku, his hands cupping the raven-haired male’s flushed cheeks and leaning in closely. “As long as I shall be by your side, then I care not where we shall venture, my prince,” Matthew murmured, his lips pressing gently against Kiku’s before he pulled away and bowed, sending a wink towards the prince.

 

Clearing his throat, Kiku glanced away though he couldn’t help the faintest of smiles that tugged at the corners of his lips. “Well then… I suppose I should show you the way.” This was going to be the start of a beautiful adventure that the pair would remember for the rest of their lives.


End file.
